MARK DUDBRIDGE will enter the Stan James World Matchplay on a high following a successful summer campaign so far.
The world number 17 has enjoyed mixed fortunes over the past two years, but he has recently bucked the trend of his form in the UK Open finals and Las Vegas Desert Classic.
Dudbridge had a poor record in both tournaments, but won through to the last 16 at the Blue Square UK Open, and then defeated Phil Taylor in the first round of the Desert Classic earlier this month.
"Two of the worst events for me have been Bolton and Las Vegas, and I've done okay in both this year," he said.
"Meeting Terry Jenkins in Bolton was a tough draw, because he's one of the three top players in the world who are standing out at the moment so there was no disgrace in losing to him."
Dudbridge had lost in the 2004 World Matchplay final and 2005 World Championship to Taylor, but gained his first victory over the Stoke legend with a 6-5 win in Las Vegas.
"It was disappointing not to go on further than the second round, but I'm going to gain loads of confidence from that win," he added.
"People will say that he wasn't at his best, but I battled well and took some good finishes out - and that is one of the things that has let me down, my finishing, so I was pleased.
"To actually get over the finishing line was a relief. When people get close to him, he usually seems to put in a couple of blistering legs and turn it around but it was nice to have a decent final leg and take out the 76."
Dudbridge opens his Stan James World Matchplay challenge against Wayne Mardle on Sunday, having defeated the 2003 runner-up previously at the Winter Gardens in the year he reached the final.
"I've had a few tussles with Wayne over the years and it's always a close game between us," said the Bristol-based star.
"He's somebody I tend to perform well against and I'm really looking forward to it.
"It's one of the biggest tournaments, a lovely venue and a magic crowd."
Dudbridge has changed the flights on his darts this year to smaller flights which change his angle of entry to the board, and he admits he is playing with a newfound confidence.
"After a bad 18 months or so, what I've done in changing my darts and dedicating myself a little bit more is getting me back to some kind of form in the last couple of tournaments," said the 34-year-old.
"Things could have gone wrong for me and I could have carried on sliding down and dropped out of the top 32, but hopefully I've turned that around now.
"I've had some great support from my family - my mum, Brenda, dad Keith, sister Jane and brother-in-law Dean, who come to every tournament - my supporters, my behind-the-scenes 'Guru', people like Pat O'Loughlin in Ireland, and sponsors Harrows, Car Imports Direct and Blue Square who carried on backing me.
"They could have ditched me but were 100 percent behind me and that's really helped. Hopefully there are some good times ahead for everybody."
Tickets for the Stan James World Matchplay - including the Sunday night session featuring Mark Dudbridge v Wayne Mardle - are still available.
For further details, contact the Winter Gardens Box Office or call Ticketmaster on 0870 380 1111.